


Half a Horse of a Different Colour

by grav_ity



Series: Before and After [5]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-08-07
Updated: 2007-08-07
Packaged: 2017-10-29 11:53:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/319621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grav_ity/pseuds/grav_ity
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Divination was nothing like as fun as it used to be.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Half a Horse of a Different Colour

**Author's Note:**

> AN: I didn’t mean for this fic to coincide with International Blog Against Racism Week…but here we are.
> 
> Disclaimer: Not mine, though I did just give them ten years of my life.
> 
> Rating: Kid friendly, no pairing.

**Before**

Divination was nothing like as fun as it used to be. Without Harry, whom everyone knew led a charmed life, Professor Trelawney’s predictions of doom seemed in poor taste at best and terrifying at worst. Things were made even tenser by the presence of one or both Carrows in nearly every class. They, at least, seemed to believe that Trelawney was a genuine seer and they hung on her every word; whenever she wasn’t too terrified to speak, of course.

Firenze’s half of the classes were both better and worse. The Carrows didn’t come into his forest glen class room, though they would spit upon the threshold every time the passed it, but the centaur’s shoulders stooped with despair and his words were ever more disheartening than Trelawney’s. The centaur didn’t see their fates in tea leaves, easily rinsed from the cup and poured down the drain, he saw it in the sky and without Hermione Granger around to disparage the entire discipline, they all had trouble shaking off their feelings of impending doom.

Parvati and the other Gryffindors grew to dread astronomy classes. As they charted the movements of the stars, they saw Firenze’s predictions play out across the heavens. Sometimes, she was tempted to ask him if Harry had a star and if that star had any hope, but something in his face, in the way he spoke about human abilities to see the future, made her courage fail. She and Lavender consulted every book they could get their hands on, grateful for once that Hermione had put up charts of the library on the wall in their dormitory instead of posters of famous wizards, but found nothing encouraging.

After Christmas, when Luna disappeared and Dumbledore’s Army began to get nervous, Divination changed again. Professor Trelawney refused to look at Lavender, and all of Lavender’s readings began to include the Wolf. Rumour had it that in the sixth year classes Trelawney had taken to breaking down every time she looked at Colin Creevey. Firenze, who usually maligned all of Trelawney’s predictions, said nothing which only served to make everyone more nervous. By Easter, most of the class had given up any hope of passing the N.E.W.T.

Spring brought no light to Hogwarts that year. With Ginny Weasley’s disappearance, Dumbledore’s Army all but went to ground. Member after member was forced to flee to the Room of Requirement and the room that had once been their gift became their prison. But they practiced and they studied and they forced all doubts to the back of their minds. If Harry had died even a quarter of the times Trelawney had predicted, they might have worried more, but Harry lived and they fought because it was the right thing to do.

When Parvati stepped out into the corridor to join the battle of Hogwarts with her sister on her left and her best friend on her right, she heard a wolf howl in the distance and, for the first time, she was truly afraid.

\------

 **After**

With tears pouring from her eyes, Parvati cradled Lavender’s broken body in her lap. She’d been crying for hours already, having been the one to find Tonks’ broken wand and bring it to the Auror’s mother and orphaned baby in the Great Hall, but this was different. This was Lavender.

She heard a soft noise and looked up. Her eyes locked for a moment with those of George Weasley and for a moment she thought she might vomit. Her twin lived. How dare she cry over her best friend when her twin lived. She wiped her face with bloody hands and tried to think of something, anything, to say, but George just put his hand on her shoulder for a moment before continuing outside.

Her tears fell with renewed strength after that. Everywhere, it seemed, were broken families and hers was intact. She wondered what she would be thinking if Padma lay here instead and, as always when she thought of her twin, she looked around to find her. Padma was in a group of other Ravenclaw survivors across the entrance hall as they circled the body of Michael Corner. As they lifted him to bear him to the Great Hall, Padma found her sister’s gaze and smiled a sad smile at her.

It had always been like that between them. They were connected by thought, but not bonded as closely as other twins they knew. Padma had never been her best friend, and neither twin had been particularly surprised to end up in a different house from the other. They didn’t complete each other’s sentences and they didn’t think with one mind, but they were sisters and when they had finished grieving separately, they would grieve together.

The sound of hooves on the marble floor surprised her and she looked up into the sad eyes of Firenze. She could not bear his gaze for long, so she dropped her eyes back to Lavender’s still face.

“She has a place in the Great Hall, Parvati,” the centaur said softly. Parvati looked up again with some surprise. Firenze almost never used their names when he talked to them. “Let me help you.”

He reached down and picked up Lavender’s body. For the first time, Parvati noticed the extent of his wounds. His naked torso was covered with welts and most of his tail was gone, leaving only a few singed remnants. She made a sympathetic sound.

“I shall heal.” He said simply, understanding her before she spoke. “We shall all heal.”

He carried Lavender into the Great Hall and set her amongst the Gryffindor dead. Parvati heard a noise of disgust behind her and turned to see three more centaurs, strong and deadly, standing in one of the corridors.

“Still he consents to bear them.” Parvati couldn’t make out which of them had spoken, but the venom in his voice was unmistakable. She took a deep breath and crossed the Great Hall towards them.

“Excuse me?” she said tremulously, standing outside of what she hoped was their kicking range.

“What do you want, human?” the same centaur spoke again and this time his voice was even more venomous.

“I – ” Parvati faltered and one of the others laughed. She took a deep breath. “I wanted to thank you. For coming. We...needed you.”

“The Dark Lord’s purpose serves us not.” replied the centaur who had laughed. “As much as we don’t like you, his rule would be worse.”

“I know that.” Parvati said. “I just...wanted to thank you.”

“I suppose you think it’s a step towards reconciliation?”

“I don’t know,” Parvati admitted. “I don’t know if we will ever reconcile. Although my friend Hermione probably won’t die until we do.”

The centaur laughed again, but this time his tone was a little different.

“I was wondering if you would let Firenze go home.” Parvati said suddenly, surprising herself. “He misses the Forest. And he misses all of you.”

“He would be your servant.” The dark haired centaur sneered.

“He was my teacher.” Parvati said softly. “I didn’t care that he wasn’t human. If my friend had lived, she wouldn’t quite be human anymore, but I would rather that then have her dead. I don’t care who carries a wand, so long as they don’t run around killing with them.”

The centaurs seemed taken aback by her admission and exchanged a glance.

“We will speak of it with the herd,” the leader said finally.

“Thank you,” said Parvati. “And thank you again for coming.”

The centaur inclined his head, much to the surprise of his companions, and the three of them left the Entrance Hall. Parvati turned around and saw Professor McGonagall standing on the steps. Her wand was out and the blood stain Lavender left was gone, scourgified off the stair, but never out of Parvati’s mind. McGonagall caught her gaze and smiled broadly at her, proud of her House. Parvati smiled back, the spirit of Gryffindor strong in her mind, and crossed the hall to her sister’s embrace.

\------

 **finis**

**Author's Note:**

> AN: I’ve always found it really cool that the Patils got sorted into different houses. To me, it means that they aren’t all that close (for twins), and I wonder what makes Parvati a Gryffindor and her sister a Ravenclaw. I was quite miffed that the movie sorted them both into the same House, because what makes them cool is that they aren’t Weasleys.
> 
> Gravity_Not_Included, August 7, 2007


End file.
